Study: Broadband subs represent 60% of online households

Seven of every ten U.S. households now subscribe to an online service, and high-speed broadband customers account for about 60 percent of that total, according to new data from Leichtman Research Group (LRG).

LRG notes a correlation between income and the choice of service. Cable high-speed data (HSD) subs are more likely to be more affluent; DSL customers are more likely to fall in a middle range of income; and dial-up customers are more likely to be in a lower income bracket. The correlation tracks with the monthly fees charged for cable, DSL, and dial-up, from highest to lowest in order.

Cable remains the most common source for residential broadband driven by its strength among higher income households: 37 percent of all households with annual household incomes over $75,000 subscribe to cable broadband, and 27 percent subscribe to DSL.

DSL now has a greater market share than cable among middle-income households; however, among all households earning $30,000 to $75,000 per year, 21 percent subscribe to DSL and 18 percent to cable.

Other LRG findings include: * The mean annual household income of cable broadband subscribers is 12 percent higher than their DSL counterparts.* The mean income of broadband subscribers is 35 percent greater than narrowband/dial-up subscribers. * 40 percent of current narrowband/dial-up subscribers are interested in getting broadband.* 80 percent of all U.S. households have at least one computer, but just 58 percent of those with annual household incomes under $30,000 have a computer at home.

The findings were based on a telephone survey of 1,600 randomly-selected households. The new LRG study is called Broadband Access and Services in the Home 2006.